.
![http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Hessenpark_Waldweide.JPG]()
What do pigs make of the dawn?
They lack canticles, but they sustain it,
With their great pink bodies,
With their hard little hooves
They buoy it up.
Pigs hold up the dawn.
Birds dine on the night.
And in the morning the world is deserted
And the spiders are sleeping, and men
Also, and dogs, and the wind.
The pigs grunt, and dawn breaks.
I want to talk with the pigs.
![]()
No cantan pero la sostienen
con sus grandes cuerpos rosados,
con sus pequeñas patas duras.
Los cerdos sostienen la aurora.
Los pájaros se comen la noche.
Y en la mañana está desierto
el mundo: duermen las arañas,
los hombres, los perros, el viento:
los cerdos gruñen, y amanece.
Quiero conversar con los cerdos.
Pablo Neruda (1904-1873): Qué piensa el cerdo de la aurora? from Bestiario (Bestiary), in Estravagario, 1958; English by TC
![]()
Pigs are believed to be as intelligent as 3-year-old children and at least as intelligent as dogs, capable of learning hand signals corresponding to words, and understanding complex relationships: photo by Mercy for Animals, 25 April 2011
![]()
Pigs are social animals and prefer to live in family groups or herds of up to 10 individuals: photo by Mercy for Animals, 25 April 2011
![]()
Pig, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
![]()
Pig, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
![]()
Pigs, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
I once knew a poet whose custom was to begin the day with a breakfast of bacon. One morning I was visiting him while the bacon strips were sizzling away on the frying pan in the next room. Moments later, the stove exploded.
![]()
![]()
Injuries, torn face 2. The face of this piglet was nearly torn off: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
![]()
Death Piglet Crate. A dead piglet lies on the floor of a farrowing crate: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
![]()
![]()
Death Pile. In factory farming environments, premature death is all too common: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
![]()
Death Bucket. Piles of piglets’ bodies are a visual testament to the cruel and violent nature of pork production: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
![]()
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 16 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 16 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 23 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 28 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 1 June 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 6 June 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 23 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 27 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 27 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
![]()
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
![http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Sow_with_piglet.jpg]()
A domestic sow and her piglet: photo by Scott Bauer, 2007 (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Alte Schweinerasse im Hessenpark der Waldweide: photo by Karsten11, 1 May 2009
They lack canticles, but they sustain it,
With their great pink bodies,
With their hard little hooves
They buoy it up.
Pigs hold up the dawn.
Birds dine on the night.
And in the morning the world is deserted
And the spiders are sleeping, and men
Also, and dogs, and the wind.
The pigs grunt, and dawn breaks.
I want to talk with the pigs.
The only free pig in Iowa: photo by Philip Capper, 24 March 2005
Qué piensa el cerdo de la aurora? No cantan pero la sostienen
con sus grandes cuerpos rosados,
con sus pequeñas patas duras.
Los cerdos sostienen la aurora.
Los pájaros se comen la noche.
Y en la mañana está desierto
el mundo: duermen las arañas,
los hombres, los perros, el viento:
los cerdos gruñen, y amanece.
Quiero conversar con los cerdos.
Pablo Neruda (1904-1873): Qué piensa el cerdo de la aurora? from Bestiario (Bestiary), in Estravagario, 1958; English by TC
Pigs are believed to be as intelligent as 3-year-old children and at least as intelligent as dogs, capable of learning hand signals corresponding to words, and understanding complex relationships: photo by Mercy for Animals, 25 April 2011
Pigs are social animals and prefer to live in family groups or herds of up to 10 individuals: photo by Mercy for Animals, 25 April 2011
Pig, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
Pig, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
Pigs, SASHA Farm Sanctuary, Manchester, Michigan: photo by Mercy for Animals, 29 May 2010
Karmic blast from past
I once knew a poet whose custom was to begin the day with a breakfast of bacon. One morning I was visiting him while the bacon strips were sizzling away on the frying pan in the next room. Moments later, the stove exploded.
-- Fulano Tal
![]()
Farrowing, wide view. The farrowing crates confine the sows so tightly that they can only take one step backwards or forward: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
![]()
Farrowing, lame. This injured sow, with the word "lame" sprayed on her back, was left to suffer in a tiny crate: photo by Mercy for Animals, November
Farrowing, wide view. The farrowing crates confine the sows so tightly that they can only take one step backwards or forward: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Farrowing, lame. This injured sow, with the word "lame" sprayed on her back, was left to suffer in a tiny crate: photo by Mercy for Animals, November
Farrowing, manure. Manure coats the inside of the farrowing crate: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Injuries, torn face 2. The face of this piglet was nearly torn off: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Death Piglet Crate. A dead piglet lies on the floor of a farrowing crate: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Gassing 1. Rather than being treated by a veterinarian, sick or injured piglets are killed in the gassing chamber: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Death Pile. In factory farming environments, premature death is all too common: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Death Bucket. Piles of piglets’ bodies are a visual testament to the cruel and violent nature of pork production: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Death Hall. Dead animals litter the factory farm sheds: photo by Mercy for Animals, November 2009
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 16 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 14 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 16 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 23 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 28 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 1 June 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 2 June 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 6 June 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 23 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 27 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 27 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 30 May 2011
Untitled [Animal cruelty at Iowa Select Farms]: photo by Mercy for Animals, 13 May 2011
A domestic sow and her piglet: photo by Scott Bauer, 2007 (U.S. Department of Agriculture)